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World|life|December 5, 2016 / 09:42 AM
Oakland fire: 33 bodies found; 70% of building still to be searched

AKIPRESS.COM - At least 33 people have been confirmed dead, including teenagers and a deputy's son, in a massive blaze that gutted a converted warehouse over the weekend during an electronic dance party, reported CNN.

The death toll is expected to rise as crews search the wreckage of the two-story building, which burst into flames late Friday night. Roughly 30% of the building had been searched as of Sunday afternoon, Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. Ray Kelly said in a news conference Sunday.

It could take weeks to identify victims through DNA and dental records, he said. Officials have asked victims' families to preserve potential DNA samples from such items as their loved ones' hairbrushes and toothbrushes to assist in identifications. He added that officials were also working with the transgender community to identify some of the victims.

The City of Oakland identified the first eight victims Sunday night. One is a 17-year-old minor whose name will not be released, the city said. The rest have been identified as Cash Askew, 22, David Clines, 35, Donna Kellogg, 32, Travis Hough, 35, all of Oakland; Nick Gomez-Hall, 25, of Coronado, California; Sara Hoda, 30, of Walnut Creek, California; and Brandon Chase Wittenauer, 32, of Hayward, California.

"The scope of this tragedy is tremendous," Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said Sunday. A criminal investigation team is on the scene as a preliminary measure, she added.

The recovery search would be long and arduous as firefighters work to remove debris "literally bucket by bucket in a methodical, thoughtful, mindful and compassionate way," Oakland battalion Fire Chief Melinda Drayton said.

"We had firefighters with basically coveralls and buckets and shovels taking bits of debris out into the vacant lot to be loaded into dump trucks and removed to an off-site location," she said.

Drayton, who has been with the department for 19 years, called it one of the most deadly fires in the city's history. A fire in Oakland Hills in 1991 killed 25 people.

Even after firefighters put out the blaze Saturday, the building was deemed too unsafe for emergency responders to enter. Officials say the roof collapsed onto the second floor and then parts of that collapsed on to the first floor.

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